1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to weight-lifting apparatus and particularly to barbell systems employing freeweights.
2. Prior Art
Barbell weight-lifting apparatus normally consists of a bar and a plurality of discs of various weights with a central hole to permit the disc to slide onto the end of a bar where it is secured into place by collars. The selection of the appropriate weights and assemblage of those weights on the bar is a time consuming delay even with organized storage racks. One method of dealing with these problems is to incorporate the weights into a large machine using pulleys and the like (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. Re. 31,113, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,746,338 and 4,361,323) or designing specially formed weights (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,771,785) or employing complex securing systems as part of the weights, (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 1,779,594). None of these prior art arrangements provides the desired facility of easy adjustment of weights and and yet retains the simplicity of a barbell device. Even improvements that provide rapid and automatically adjustable weight selection (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,198) are expensive and provide only sequential weight selection, i.e., a user adds or subtracts weights from a series of weights arranged vertically or horizontally.
Safety is of utmost concern in handling "freeweights"--those weights not permanently affixed to a barbell or other apparatus--because single weights may fall on a user and freeweight systems often are used with great weightloading for body building and similar activities. Problems such as slippage of a securing collar can result in dangerous weight shifts. Accordingly, weight must be adequately secured to the barbell. Also, weights in weight-selectable systems should specifically provide that weights not selected remain stationary.
Specific disadvantages of machines that are overcome in the present invention include the fact that many machines limit movement to specific paths along tracks or within guides. In addition, machines often control velocity of movement or vary the resistance applied to a given movement and are thus not "natural" in their approach to exercising. Many machines are constructed to be used by some "average" size person and thus do not accommodate very short or very tall people. Furthermore, many machines are so specialized in nature with respect to a given exercise that it can be prohibitively expensive to buy several machines to get an effective workout even if adequate floor space is available. Finally, many machines are extremely expensive even for commercial spas. All of these disadvantages are overcome using a freeweight system in accord with the present invention.
Freeweight systems not only allow greater levels of weight to be placed on a bar than can be attained with many machine-dependent systems but also require a user to stabilize the weights when exercising rather than simply lift and release. Therefore the ability to place different weights at different locations on a bar provides for exercises that are simply not possible with systems known in the art. What is most desired is a barbell system that provides all the advantages of freeweights (e.g. greater weight and flexibility) and all the advantages of machine-dependent systems (e.g. safety and ease of use). The improvements in accord with this invention substantially alleviates the aforementioned problems of the prior art and provides most if not all of the advantages of both barbell and machine type of weight systems.